Angela Spaccia drops lawsuit against former boss, ex-Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo

LOS ANGELES - The former assistant to ex-Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo today dropped her lawsuit in which she claimed entitlement to compensation from the municipality for her legal bills in fighting criminal corruption allegations, which may be as high as $1 million.

Spaccia, who once earned more than $560,000 annually, was found guilty Dec. 9 of 11 felony counts related to the Bell corruption scandal. The charges included misappropriation of public funds, conflict of interest and secretion of public documents.

Koron said the convictions prevented Spaccia from moving forward with a non-jury trial before White on her indemnity claim. At his request, White dismissed the case “without prejudice,” meaning she can bring the claim again.

Koron explained that Spaccia may have an outside chance with her civil claim in the future if her criminal convictions are partially or completely overturned. He said Spaccia’s legal bills in the criminal case may be as much as $1 million.

Lawyers for the city maintained Spaccia was not entitled to compensation for her attorneys’ fees and that former City Manager Robert Rizzo secretly made her the city’s assistant chief administrative officer in June 2008 without City Council approval.

Attorney Stephen Onstot, on behalf of the city, said after today’s proceedings that the lawsuit never should have been filed and that Spaccia’s convictions left her with no option but to ask for dismissal of her suit. He said White had previously dismissed all of the other claims in the case.

Spaccia, 55, was hired by the city in 2003 and, prior to the June 2008 agreement, held the title of assistant to the chief administrative officer. She sued the city in November 2011.